Athletics and Football (extract)

36 ATHLETICS distance the Hon. Mr. Brand, and woneasily, ' the latter gen­ tleman becoming quite winded before he had run fifty paces.' Both these matches were brought off at Lord's Cricket Ground. Besidesthese, Thom gives the names of Colonel Douglas, Mr. Lambert, Lieutenant Hankey, Captain Aiken,Lieutenant Fair- man, and Captain Agar as being prominent amateurs about his time; and, indeed, it appears that the amateur pedestrianswere chiefly officers in the army. This inclines us to believe the story which is often repeated, but for which we can find no sufficientverification,that about 1812 there wasa regular annual athletic meeting at Sandhurst, which was afterwards discon­ tinued. Thom is of opinion that next after his pet hero, Captain Barclay,Abraham Wood, of Mildrew, in Lancashire,was the best runner of his time. His best reported performances were 20min. 21 sec. for four milesover the York course, against one John Brown, who had previously beaten Wood over a similar distance on the Knavesmire. Wood, however, seems to have been a fair performerat shorter distances as well,as in 1809 he beat Shipley,of Nottingham, at a quarter mileon the well-known Knutsford course in 56seconds. Sprinting appears to have been less popular than racing at longerdistances at this time; but such sprinters as there were must have been marvellousmen if the times recorded are accurate. Curley, the Brighton shepherd, ran a match against Grinley,a 'ped,' in 1805, 'on the walk leading to the gate of Kensington Garden,' Grinley winning by a head in 12^ seconds. Next year Grinleyagain beat his antagonist on Hampton Court Green over 120 yards, upon this occasion doing ' level time.' Curley, however,beat another 'ped,' Cooke, a soldier, over a sprint; but Cooke, for a wager of fifty guineas, beat Mr. Williams, a gentleman, by a yard and a half. In 1808, however, Skewball,the famous Lanca­ shire shepherd, ran 140 yards in 12 seconds at Hackney ! This is perhaps the best specimen of the incapacity of the writers of that day to distinguish between possibleand impos­ sible times.